Belmont Police Log, Jan. 3-10,: Checks being stolen from mailboxes and washed, trash barrel stolen on Bow Road, suspicious activity on Houghton Road

The following are excerpts from the Belmont Police log as made available by the Belmont Police Department. The log is public and available for review. All persons are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. 

Public Safety Alert

Belmont Police remind residents not to mail envelopes checks in any mailboxes. Instead, bring them inside post offices and give to a postal employee. Check washing is on the rise.

Wednesday, Jan. 3

11:42 a.m.: Collision at the intersection of Common and Waverley Street between a 2022 Honda operated by a Waltham woman and a 2021 Mazda operated by a Belmont man. The Belmont man was issued a citation for failure to stop. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.

3:06 p.m.: A Clover Street resident reported identity fraud. She learned two accounts were opened in her name.

Thursday, Jan. 4

8:02 a.m.: A Lorimer Road resident reported she had four checks intercepted and washed. One was changed to $100 and three were changed to $50 each for a total of $250. She closed the bank account.

7:57 p.m.: A minor collision at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Pleasant Street between a 2020 Toyota operated by a Waltham woman and a 2021 Subaru operated by a Belmont woman. The Waltham woman was issued a citation for following too close.

Friday, Jan. 5

10:49 a.m.: A Waltham resident reported one check mailed in the mailbox outside the United States Post Office, 492 Trapelo Road, was washed. The amount was changed from $1,166 to $11,666. The party it was payable to was also changed to a bogus name. The account was frozen.

11:44 a.m.: A collision at 569 Belmont St. between a 2013 Toyota operated by a Malden woman and a 2020 Hyundai operated by a Watertown woman. The Malden woman was issued a citation for following too close.

5:13 p.m.: A hit and run collision involving a Belmont resident operating a 2018 Toyota. She was rear-ended on Belmont Street in the area of Alma Avenue. She did not see the vehicle that hit her. She believes the operator was a male. There was minor damage to her vehicle.

Saturday, Jan. 6

10:54 p.m.: Suspicious activity on Houghton Road. There were two unknown people in the backyard of a Houghton Road residence knocking on the rear window. Voices of a male and female were also heard talking. Belmont Police noticed a broken flowerpot in the back of the home. Officers were unable to locate anything else in the area. The resident is in the process of installing a security camera.

Sunday, Jan. 7

3:15 p.m.: A Farnham Road resident reported receiving a harassing message on LinkedIn after they received a promotion at work.

5 p.m.: A Stone Road resident reported two different restaurants attempted to deliver food to their home that they didn’t order. They declined both deliveries. This has been an ongoing issue, which they believe is related to online harassment.

Monday, Jan. 8

12:45 p.m.: A Wellesley Road resident reported a brand new excavator on their property had a white substance dropped into the hydraulic reservoir causing it not to operate. A maintenance company said it was not the correct type of fluid to put in the excavator.

3:10 p.m.: A Sharpe Road resident reported a minor collision between a bus and a motor vehicle in the area of Burbank Elementary School. A 2020 Thomas school bus operated by a Medford man sideswiped a parked 2022 Acura owned by a Belmont man. There were no students on the bus.

Tuesday, Jan. 9

1:54 p.m.: The owner of a portrait studio business at 68 Leonard St. reported larceny by false pretense. An agreement was made to pay $4,200 for cameras. Two payments, one for $2,000 and one for $2,200 were made to two different accounts on Venmo but only the payment for $2,200 was validated. He did not receive the payment for $2,000. One of the cameras was picked up. He got the license plate but it was not valid and officers could not track the vehicle owner. He is working with Venmo to see if he can get his money back. He is unsure if it was a scam or a mix-up.

Wednesday, Jan. 10

8:22 a.m. Collision into a stone wall on Grove Street involving a 2018 Toyota operated by an Allston female. She lost control of the vehicle while driving in the rain and it struck a stone wall at Grove Street Park. She was issued a citation for operating at speeds greater than reasonable for the road conditions. She checked herself into the hospital to be evaluated.

8:23 a.m.: A Bow Road resident reported their trash barrel was stolen. She saw a male party rolling it away down the road. She wasn’t able to see where he went.

1:15 p.m.: A collision on Grove Street between a 2011 Honda operated by an Arlington woman and a 2016 Honda operated by a Cambridge woman. The 2016 Honda was pulling out of a parking spot when it struck the 2011 Honda while as it was passing in traffic. They exchanged information. No citation was issued at this time.

2:42 p.m.: A Winchester man reported identity fraud related to Watertown Savings Bank in Belmont. Checks he mailed at the mailbox in front of 56 Leonard St. were washed and forged. The total amount was $8,500. The names of who the checks were payable to were changed. Watertown Savings Bank intercepted the checks before they were cashed and alerted him.

Belmont Police responded to seven domestic calls, including one arrest and six mental health calls between Jan. 3-10, 2024.